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LRASM also reduces reliance on jammable ISR platforms
BY KEVIN McCANEY
The Navy’s newest anti-ship mis-
sile extends the range of the ser-
vice’s arsenal while cutting down
reliance on traditional guides such GPS
signals, ISR (intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance) platforms and
network links.
The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile
(LRASM), developed under a Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency
program in cooperation with the Navy
and the Air Force, successfully com-
pleted its third and most recent test
Feb. 4 at Sea Test Range in Point Mugu,
Calif. After being dropped from a B-1B
bomber, the prototype missile hit pre-
set waypoints and avoided an obstacle
on its way to the target, according to
DARPA.
LRASM, which became a Navy pro-
gram of record a year ago after two
successful tests in 2013, would seem to
help solve a couple of problems for the
Navy.
One: The Navy’s strike
range is getting smaller
as its existing planes
and missiles get older,
while at the same time
enemies’ strike range is
growing. LRASM could
help counter that, re-
taining the Navy’s abil-
ity to fire while outside
of an enemy’s reach.
Two: It helps coun-
ter concerns about the
military’s overreliance
on GPS, which can be
jammed or spoofed, as
well as on ISR platforms
and network connectiv-
ity, which can be disrupted through the
electromagnetic spectrum. Developing
alternate location and navigation tools
is a shared focus of both the Defense
Department’s updated electromagnetic
warfare policy, released in April 2014,
and the recently released instruction on
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing,
and Navigation Warfare, which particu-
larly concerns GPS.
LRASM consists of the semi-auton-
omous Joint Air to Surface Standoff
Missile Extended Range airframe, along
with sensors and systems designed to
make it a stealthy subsonic cruise mis-
sile, capable of operating in areas where
traditional electronic or satellite access
is disrupted or denied. Among its other
technologies are anti-obstacle algo-
rithms that enabled it to avoid the ob-
ject placed in its path during the recent
test. Its integrated sensor suite includes
the ability to sense and fuze targets and
validate the geolocation algorithms.
Lockheed Martin is the lead contrac-
tor for demonstration of the LRASM
system; BAE Systems is designing and
building the sensor systems.
Started in 2009, the LRASM program
started with two versions: the subsonic,
low-altitude LRASM-A; and LRAS-B,
which would operate at high altitudes
and supersonic speeds. Eventually, of-
ficials decided to focus, for now at least,
only on the LRASM-A and put the
riskier LRASM-B on hold.
While the current prototype is de-
signed for air-to-ship (or in the case of
the Air Force, air-to-ground) missions,
the program could expand to include
surface-to-air and ship-to-air capabili-
ties.
A five-year stretch from start to pro-
gram of record is pretty fast for a com-
plex weapons system, and DARPA said
it reflects the value of another DOD
program, Better Buying Power 3.0,
which seeks to speed up development,
boost innovation and cut costs with
techniques such as rapid prototyping. n
New anti-ship missile conducts precision
strikes without relying on GPS
BATTLESPACE
TECH
DefenseSystems.com | MARCH/APRIL 2015 19
An integrated sensor suite enables a
missile to sense and fuze targets.
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3/11/15 10:06 AM